Tips for donating healthy food choices to food banks

Did you know that more than 1,000 households are served by the network of food pantries in Madison County each month? The food that our neighbors receive at the emergency food pantries helps supplement their diet by stretching food dollars when they need it most.

A lot of people are helping our food pantries by organizing or donating to food drives, especially this holiday season. Food pantries and the people who use them appreciate the help and even rely on those who donate. But have you ever thought about the nutritional quality of the food you donate? Paying attention to the nutritional value of what is purchased for donation can help in a healthier way by offering nutrient-rich foods that are essential for good health.

To make it easier for people to donate healthy foods, the Madison County Living Well Partnership has developed a Top 20 Healthy Food Donation Ideas list, and is asking all food drive sponsors and donors to use this list for food drives. The list contains staples such as canned fruits and vegetables, pasta sauce, oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain pasta, crackers, canned fish or chicken, peanut butter, canned beans, low-sodium soup or broth, 100 percent fruit juice, and powdered or low-fat evaporated milk.

What we eat should be bolstering our health, but it's actually contributing to several hundred thousand premature deaths from heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and cancer each year. Donating healthy foods to emergency food pantries is just one way we can help in a healthy way.

Did you know that as much as 50 percent of the foods donated to pantries are already expired? This is a problem because food pantries are not allowed to give out expired food, and it is costly for the pantries to dispose of. Be sure to check the expiration date before donating.

Donating money is another healthy option to consider. Food pantries can buy seven pounds of healthy food from the Food Bank of Central New York for every dollar donated.

The Living Well Partnership is a community coalition promoting local changes that make it easier for people living and working in Madison County to eat well and be physically active. For more information on this campaign, contact the Madison County Health Department at 366-2361.

For a listing of Madison County food pantries, visit Community Action Partnership's website at: